1. SOVIET-SUPPORTED CW LABORATORY IN VIENTIANE 2. ACCIDENT INVOLVING "YELLOW POWDER"

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: FOIA Collection
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 06156982
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: December 28, 2022
• Document Release Date: September 26, 2017
• Case Number: F-2012-01432
• Publication Date: January 26, 1982

DIRECTORATE OF
OPERATIONS
Approved for Release: 2015/01/05 006156982
DOMESTIC COLLECTION DIVISION
Foreign Intelligence Information Report
WARNING NOTICE�INTELLIGENCE SOURCES AND METHODS INVOLVED
FURTHER DISSEMINATION AND USE OF THIS INFORMATION SUBJECT TO CONTROLS
STATED AT BEGINNING AND END OF REPORT PAGE 1 OF 2 PAGES
THIS IS AN INFORMATION REPORT, NOT FINALLY EVALUATED INTEWGENCE
REPORT CLASS. CONF I I/1/N T I A L�WNINTEL REPORT NO.
COUNTRY Laos/USSR
SUBJECT 1.
SOURCE
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DATE DISTR. 26 January 1982
Soviet-supported CW REFERENCES
Laboratory in Vientiane
Accident Involving "Yellow Powder"
1
witnessed uniformed Soviet chemical warfare (CW) advisors bringing
contijnpra about 12" x 1," x 8" into a small.building in Vientiane
that. was a simple one-room CV laboratory.
several Lao women, wearing only gloves and masks,
worked in the lab, which was about 8' x 20' with a waist-high bench
running down its length, the containers
that had been carried into the lab held three types of powder re-
ferred to as yellow, red or green poisons. After these powders were
mixed with unspecified amounts of water and placed into metal tanks
of unspecified ditnensioiisthey were taken out of the buildin by
the Soviet advisors. the
advisors put the metal tanks on CAZ-66 trucks' and take them to an
airfield, where they were then loaded onto small aircraft.
' 2. the yellow powder was supposedly the most
dangerous, said co be used in anti-infantry operations to kill. Death
was reportedly due to constrictions and gagging of the throat with in-
ability to breath. Loss of viwinn was also reported. No time for
death after exposure was known
3. the other two powders were defoliants
because no deaths had been associated with stories of their use (thaw
supposedly caused foliage to turn black), and because
chemicals sprayed from small aircraft in other countries were defoliants.
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Approved for Release: 2015/01/05 006156982
. WARNING NOTICE ......... .,. .1 �
INTELLIGENCE SOURCES AND METHODS INVOLVED 't2Ii.i,t)Lli
FURTHER ESSEMINATION AND USE OF THIS INFORMATION SUBJECT
TO CONTROLS STATED AT BEGINNING AND END OF REPORT PACE 2 OF 2 PAGES
CONFIDENT..IAL,
,
4. an accident (location.:ssd..date
unknown)involving a group of Lao who attempted to smuggle a container of
yellow powder into Thailand and were all killed when the container'
was dropped and ruptured. "
REPORT CLASSCONFIDEN'T I'A L--WARNING NOTICE - INTELLIGENCE'
SOURCES AND METHODS INVOLVED.
ALL PORTIONS CARRY CLASSIFICATION AND
CONTROLS OF OVERALL DOCUMENT.
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